


Hide and Seek

by madartiste



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Humor, NSFW, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 18:20:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2821724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madartiste/pseuds/madartiste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natsu finds playing a game with Lucy to be a lot more challenging than he expected.  (Nalu with just a splash of Gruvia at the end)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

> Plot? What plot? If you're looking for one, this might not be the best place to be. Otherwise, hop on in! Mainly NSFW, so you've been warned. Also, this gets a tad bit kinky. I'd like to say I'm sorry, but, well… Sorry I'm not sorry? Beta read by the awesome [amichaelala](http://amichaelala.tumblr.com/).

Makarov cleared his throat and silence filtered through the guild hall, everyone staring expectantly up at his position on the stage.  "As you know, it's time again for our annual 24 Hour Endurance Road Race.  Considering the… unusual results from last year's, however, I thought it was time we tried something different."

Murmurs rose in volume, the air becoming thick with apprehension.  It was one thing when they knew what to expect from the master's crazy ideas, but something _new_?  That sounded dangerous.

"This year," the guild master paused for dramatic effect, "we're playing hide and seek!"

A variety of responses ranging from anguish to excitement played out among the Fairy Tail members.  Natsu whooped and gave Lucy a small shake when he grabbed her arm.  "This is gonna be awesome!"

"Quiet now," Makarov called over the din.  "I need to explain the rules.  Mira is passing around a bag that has little tiles in it, and all of you are going to pick one out.  If there's a black dot, that means you are a seeker.  If it's blank, that means you'd best be good at keeping out of sight."

Gray glared at the blank ceramic piece in the palm of his hand.  "Great. Just great."

"Oh, it's not so bad," Erza put in, waving her black spotted tile with a gloating smirk.

Natsu crowed, thrusting his fist into the air.  "I get to chase!  What'd you get Lucy?!"  The blonde moaned and showed him her plain white marker.  Gajeel was grumbling at his own blank token, and Wendy smiled sympathetically, displaying her identical one.

"Well," Mirajane said as the last person plucked a tile from the bag, "at least Natsu's the only dragon slayer that's a seeker.  It almost doesn't seem fair otherwise."

"Gajeel!" the fire wizard shouted, planting a sandaled foot on a bench boldly.  "You and me!  You can't hide from my nose!"  Lucy cringed at his noisy declaration, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.  At least _someone_ was happy about all this.

The pierced brunette growled, baring his teeth.  "Bring it on, Salamander!  Think you can beat --"

"Slow down now," Makarov interrupted.  "That's not quite how this works.  I need all the seekers to write their names down on those slips of paper our lovely Mirajane is handing out.  Once you're done, she'll put them in the bag and our hiders will each pull one out."

He paused while they followed his instructions, letting the buzz of conversation wash over the guild hall for a few minutes before continuing his recitation of the game rules.  "Now, I want you all to keep in mind that there is a lot at stake here.  The first person to catch someone and the last person to be caught will get a prize!"  The old man's expression was lit with perverse glee.  "And the _first_ person caught and the _last_ person to catch someone will have to play the _punishment game_."

Lucy watched as Gray tugged a name out of the bag and almost, _almost_ laughed when he went pale.  "J-Juvia?!"

The water mage launched herself at him, clinging desperately.  "Oh, my love!  This must be fate.  Juvia would walk to the ends of the earth to find you if you are lost."

"Hopefully just not too fast," he mumbled, face red but resigned.

"Your turn, Lucy."  Mirajane smiled warmly as she presented the burlap sack to the celestial wizard.  "Good luck!"

Sticking her tongue out in unnecessary concentration, the blonde plunged her hand into the bag to dig blindly through the remaining slips.   _C'mon, Lucky Lucy,_ she thought as she retrieved one.  She pulled the paper out with a flourish, eagerly unfolding it.

Her face fell from determination to dread, and the world crumbled under her feet.  Her knees felt weak in the face of this gross injustice the universe was forcing upon her innocent self.  This couldn't be!  No, no, no…

"Oooh, _bad_ luck," Mira said sadly as she leaned over the girl's shoulder.  "You got Natsu."

"Ouch!" Elfman sympathized.  "No choice but to take it like a man."  A glare from Evergreen forced an amendment.,  "Or, you know, a _wo_ man…"

"Alright!" the dragon slayer exclaimed, slapping his friend on the back.  "We're partners!"

She sighed, exasperated by his unrelenting enthusiasm.  "No, Natasu.  We're _opponents_ , and if you find me too early _I'll_ get punished."

"Oh."  His face scrunched up in distaste.  He honestly didn't want to be the cause of Lucy's distress since she tended to get loud when she was upset.  That and he couldn't _stand_ to see her sad or suffering.  "Can't you trade with somebody?"

"No trades!" Makarov shouted before anyone else could leap on the idea.  "The selections are final.  You have three days to prepare, and we'll be giving you information about the individual grounds where you'll each compete the day before.  Everyone will need to keep to their own boundaries so they don't interfere with anyone else.  Just to make it interesting, of course."  He grinned, quite pleased with himself and his diabolical contest.

"Make it interesting, huh?" Gajeel grunted, giving Max a withering glare and very deliberately crushing the slip with the other wizard's name in his fist.  The sand mage shuddered.  Psychological warfare was fair game as far as the iron dragon slayer was concerned.

Levy grasped the dejected Lucy's arm with an optimistic light in her eyes.  "Don't give up yet!  I found some books in the library that have great chapters on hunting and stealth.  I bet there's something in there you can use."

The blonde drew in a deep breath, digging up the determination that had sunk into the mire of despair in her gut.  "Yeah, you're right.  All I have to do is not get caught first, after all."

"That's the spirit!" Levy cheered.

"Yeah!  I can _do_ this!"  Lucy thumped her fist into the open palm of her other hand.  "I'm sure I'll find something if I do some research.  I can totally --"

"Hey!  Who's got that fire jerky?!" Natsu yelled, nose quivering as he climbed onto a tabletop.  He spun around and narrowed his eyes at Vejeeter's pockets from across the packed room.  "Mira got that for me!  Fork it over!"  The fire wizard made a beeline for the food, hopping nimbly from table to table and making silverware rattle with the force of his landing.

"I am so _doomed_ ," Lucy moaned, dropping her head into her hands.

* * *

 

Three days passed in a flash, but every second had been spent in preparation.  Lucy patted her pockets for the umpteenth time to make sure everything was in place.  Getting saddled with an empty part of the forest around Magnolia as their personal slice of 'hunting ground' wasn't likely to help her, but most of the information she'd found had related to wilderness survival anyway.  Her chances might be slim, but she was going to make the best of them.

She'd really been hoping to secure some kind of leniency along with all her diligent research, but it seemed being a dragon slayer's sort-of-almost girlfriend wasn't going to help her out in this case.  The fire wizard had been more than a little put out when she'd broken their arrangement for a third attempt at a first date, but considering the first two tries had ended in chaos and something being set on fire, she didn't want to risk the distraction.

"Hey, Lucy!"  Natsu sauntered in her direction, oblivious to her twitchy anxiety.  He already sported the matching magical tag mark on his arm that would let their progress be tracked by Mirajane and the master.  The first time they came in contact after the timer started would count as him catching her.

He sniffed and frowned, looking her up and down.  The hands he had laced behind his head dropped to his sides.  "What's up with all the clothes?  Are you expecting to get cold?  And why don't you smell --"

"Never you mind!" she snapped, agitated.  No way was she coughing up the secret knowledge she'd painstakingly collected.  Lucy needed every advantage she could get.

"Jeez!  Sorry I asked," he muttered.

A tingle up their arms let them know their start time was almost upon them, and Natsu grinned at her.  She wrinkled her nose and blew out a breath to calm her nerves.  "I can do this… I can do this…"

"Loosen up," he soothed, bumping her shoulder with his.  "This'll be fun."

"Maybe for you," she shot back and then grimaced before offering an apologetic look.  "Sorry… I just really don't want to get stuck with whatever insane punishment the master cooked up this time."

Natsu beamed at her, obviously not offended by her snapping.  "You'll do great!"

The buzzing sensation on her arm alerted Lucy it was time for her to hide, and she hurried away with a small smile cast over her shoulder at the waving dragon slayer.  As much as he would've liked to cut his partner some slack, Makarov had warned that anyone caught not trying their hardest would suffer an even worse punishment than the losers.

He really didn't want to go through that again.

Waiting was not his strong suit, however, and after five minutes of standing still he started getting antsy.  It wasn't like Lucy could get far in such a short time, he reasoned with himself.  It wouldn't be fair if that was all the time she got.  Plus, Mira had argued that his nose gave him an unfair advantage over the girl and insisted she get an extra five minutes head start.

He could handle this.  He'd be fine.  Just ten more minutes.  Ten… excruciatingly long, boring minutes.

By the time he got the signaling vibration up his arm, Natsu was sprawled on the ground trying his hardest to make 'grass angels.'  He lept to his feet, eager to get started, and took off in the direction his partner had disappeared.

Sniffing, he wasn't surprised to find that her scent was very faint.  She'd done _something_ to mask it, he was certain.  The girl was seriously smart, but it wouldn't be enough.  He picked up the traces immediately, hustling towards where it was strongest.  It didn't take him long until he was bearing down on a pocket of smell with a grin.

"Found ya!  Wha…?"  The dragon slayer, in an attempt to startle the girl, jumped around the tree he'd been positive she was hiding behind only to find one of the layers of shirts she'd been wearing earlier draped over the roots.  He blinked and then laughed, picking it up.

She really was scary smart.

Pressing the fabric to his nose, his brow creased.  There was definitely some kind of masking concoction there but something else too… Something inherently Lucy that tickled his hind brain.

Whatever.  He didn't have time to worry about that, so he carelessly stuffed the thin shirt into the pocket of his pants.  Scenting the air in a way that would make a bloodhound cry with envy, Natsu picked up her trail again and darted forward.

He found himself stymied three more times by discarded clothing, coming to appreciate that she'd deliberately worn the extra layers for this very purpose.  The bright purple scarf had him climbing a tree, finding it tossed into the branches, while a blue vest was tucked into a hollow that he actually had to dig to get in.

It was the pair of pale pink shorts under a rock that made him trip, though, nearly wrenching his ankle when he found them.  He had only barely registered that she'd been wearing those under her skirt and now… she _wasn't_.  If this kept up much longer she wouldn't be wearing much at all.  That deviant thought crawled through the hidden spaces in his brain before he took off again accompanied by some very interesting mental images.

This was fun, he decided.  Tracking was something he normally used for jobs and not for play, but this was amazing.  He pounced on one of her thigh-high stockings tangled in a thorny bush and couldn't help but delight in Lucy's surprising skill.  The grin that was steadily growing on his face might have started to look just a touch savage to someone else.

Each shed item made his admiration for her grow, and the carefully crafted path she looped through the area had him moving in confusing circles.  It was _hard_ to stump a dragon slayer's nose, but in the end she still wasn't going to get away.  Her scent was firmly sealed in his nostrils now and no amount of chemical was going to block it out.

Dragging the newly found stocking against his nose as he inhaled deeply, an answer to what was different about her smell today popped in his mind like an iridescent bubble even as he raced towards another source of scent.  He knew Lucy's specific fragrance inside and out after years of being with her almost every waking hour.  It wasn't that he'd never noticed before, but today that peculiar, succulent spice that she got during the height of her monthly cycle stood out like a beacon screaming in his mind.

Poor Lucy, he thought exultantly.  She couldn't possibly escape him now.

There wasn't any point in running, but the merry little chase she'd led him on had his heart pumping and his blood thrumming throughout his body.  Such a clever woman he'd had the good fortune to find, and now she was summoning him to come catch her.  Not that she'd made it easy, oh no!  But that was the tease, the coy and seductive little game.  If he couldn't keep up, what good would he be?

Wisely, she'd headed down the river and then doubled back to lose him.  It didn't work, and he could practically picture her movements in his mind's eye, splashing and damp and possibly heaving for breath after all that running.  He paused for just a moment to savor the image in his head of her, skin shining with sweat and droplets of river water, eyes scanning behind her, searching for him.  He'd better not keep her waiting, or she might become disappointed with his performance.

His sense of her was intense, making him twitch with anticipation.  The second stocking tied around a stump on the riverbank was still warm from her body heat and felt so welcoming when he twined it around his fingers.  It wouldn't be long now.

Natsu’s feet propelled him on a speedy course, dodging around the dense foliage with barely a thought.  Planting the sole of his shoe against one of the trunks, he managed to get some elevation and used his momentum to bounce between the massive trees, branches shaking with the wind generated by his passing.

Down below he spotted the golden hair moving at a decent clip, and it lit something in his belly up like an explosion.  Fire surged through his veins at the sight of her, lips peeling completely away from his teeth in a feral show of fangs as he threw himself towards her.  His feet connected against the trunk of a tree with enough force to crack it, sound splitting the air like a cannon shot and splinters showering outwards.

He heard Lucy shriek in surprise, hands over her head as she ducked, and she poured on as much speed as she could muster.  Too little, too late, he thought joyously.  The game was done, and he was about to claim his prize.

She'd made it a whole 20 minutes - 35 total counting the head start - of painstaking misdirection and constant motion.  Right now, Lucy was praying that it would be enough because it was clear she wasn't going to get any more.

The impact of his body sent her pitching forward even as she felt the bursting tingle of the tracer mark declaring that she'd been caught.  Only Natsu's savvy fingers wrapping around her throat and holding her head up kept her from smashing face first into the ground.  As it was, her knees took the brunt of the fall with her hands sliding into a soft pile of leaves.

Slapping her palm on the earth in frustration, she was about to yell at him for being so rough when he suddenly brushed her hair out of the way, and she felt the sensation of a jaw full of sharp teeth gripping the back of her neck.

"Wha --"  Her question was aborted when he growled and used the threat of fangs tearing into her skin to force her shoulders downward.  His chest pushed flat against her back, and she could feel the enormous heat of him all along her spine.  Elbows slewed against leaf litter, ending up tucked against her breasts underneath her, and his hands shoved her skirt up over her hips right before the sound of leather scraping and metal jangling met her ears.

Was that his _belt_ coming off?!

A spike of excitement and desire zipped down through her stomach as she felt his tongue taste the skin his teeth were marking.  Her devious brain spat out a dozen scenarios that had only ever existed in the murky depths of her most private fantasies.  Having him out of control with hunger for _her_ was something that had seemed impossible after he consistently brought a premature end to any close encounters they'd had in the past.  This was already exceeding her wildest imaginings, but her passion suddenly tripped over a fussy truth and face planted in reality.

Natsu wasn't acting like himself.  Something wasn't right, and that made _this_ not right.

Lurching backwards, Lucy swung her elbow hard.  It connected with the side of his head and sent a numbing jolt down her arm. His face blanked, blinking rapidly, and he stared emptily while she panted and squinted, trying to understand what had just occurred.

The blow must've kick started his brain because color rose from his collar to his pink roots, face flushing and rivaling his hair's brightness.  "Oh… Oh crap!  Lucy, I… I…"

"What the hell were you doing?" she demanded, still half twisted around so she could see him.

Cringing from her volume and the shame of what he'd almost done, Natsu ducked his head.  He didn't want to meet her eyes and see the completely justified anger in them.  "I'm so sorry!  I shouldn't have… I just lost control…"

She turned the rest of the way around and sat back, studying his distraught face.  "What happened?"

"It was… a dragon thing…" he said, feeling utterly lame falling back on such an excuse, no matter how valid.  "The chase…"

"I'm going to need more than that," she prompted when he drifted into silence.

Only now was he recalling the stern lecture Igneel had given him as a child.  The flame dragon had been warning of how strong dragon instincts could become as the boy delved deeper into the arts of slayer magic.   _If you form a strong bond with a special young woman, you will need to be careful not to fall prey to those powerful instincts.  Especially when she is at her most fertile, there's a chance you could… Are you listening to me?!  This is important!_

He rubbed the side of his head as much from the memory of getting cuffed by his father as from the blow Lucy had given him.  "Damn it, dad," he grumbled.

Sighing, he reluctantly braced himself.  "Look, dragons have this _thing_ where when they mate, the girl will sometimes make the guy chase her to prove he's good enough… and maybe get themselves kinda fired up.  I think some wires just got crossed in my head."

"Oh," she said, trying to fight the disappointment creeping into her tone.  "So this would've happened with any girl you were chasing."

His face looked like it might literally light up with how flushed it had gotten.  "W-well… Not exactly.   Wait, you don't really sound _mad_ ," he stalled.

Now it was her turn to blush vividly.  "I'm not.  I was just… worried about you is all.  And what do you mean 'not exactly'?"

Natsu wilted, realizing he wasn't going to distract Lucy from her expert prying.  Heaving a heavy, resigned sigh, he answered, "It only happens during mating season when dragon's mate.  It wouldn't happen with someone I didn't care about and want to… uh... mate with…"

It was like being a job posting pinned to the board with the way her brown eyes skewered him and picked him apart for all the gory details.  She seemed determined to wring every last scrap of embarrassing truth out of him.  "I think you need to explain this more to me so I don't misunderstand what you're saying."

The dragon slayer ran a sweaty palm down his face.  "If we were dragons, the only reason you would've _let_ me chase you as if you were in heat and wanted me to… you know… with you.  Otherwise, you'd just bash me in the face, and I would've backed off."

"Dragon's have consent?"  Lucy raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Heck yeah!  You saw how big the females are.  Any guy trying something she doesn't like is gonna get his head knocked off his shoulders.  It's way smarter to just step down at the first no."

She nodded, deciding that made perfect, terrifying sense.  "When I clocked you, it was like me saying 'no'?  That's what shook you out of it?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

Her plush mouth twisted down, brows lowering as she considered her collection of new information.  "So… A person that you care about, that you're chasing around, and that doesn't smack you in the head beforehand. I guess that could happen with someone…"

Squirming a bit, Natsu felt like she was somehow dragging the words out of him with her calculating look.  "It might've also had something do with you being at that point in your... cycle…" he mumbled, silently wishing he would choke on his own tongue rather than divulge all his mortifying secrets.

The blonde blinked at him owlishly before realizing what he was actually saying.  "You can tell when I'm _ovulating_?!"

He shrank back, lips pulling away from his teeth in an almost pained grimace.  "You smell different."

"Smell different _how_?" she moaned.  This was not something she was even sure she wanted to know.

Silence greeted her while her partner reached down and plucked absently at blades of grass.  After a moment, she began to suspect he just wasn't going to answer her but was surprised by his whisper.  "Really good."  She watched his adam's apple bob with a hard swallow.  "Really, _really_ good."

Well, now.  That wasn't what she'd been expecting to hear.

"Do you really want to do… _that_ with me?"  The words jumped out of her mouth, and she decided there was no point in trying to dance around the subject now.  She'd tired of their weird little two-step long ago, actually.

"Luuuuucy," he whined, not liking how she was digging up things he'd buried for her own sake, "Let's not get into --"

She leaned forward suddenly, laying a bold hand right on the bulging erection barely hidden by his loose pants.  "Because if I'm honest, I really want to do that with you."  No turning back, she promised herself.  Now that it was said, they could only move forward.  She just hoped that it wouldn't send him running for the hills.

"Y-you do?" his voice cracked, making him cringe.  Her eyes were dark in the shade of the trees, and it brought back the lust addled thoughts he'd had earlier.  The nod she gave him in response couldn't be misinterpreted no matter how he turned things over.  "Oh… man."

Lunging towards her, he seized her upper arms and mashed his mouth against hers.  It was clumsy and knocked their teeth together painfully, but when her hands fisted into his hair, he knew he just didn't care.  Everything in him screamed at him to have her _now_ , to throw himself on her mercy and beg.  Everything except one corner of his brain that wailed he was making a _big_ mistake.

"We shouldn't," he breathed against her lips even as he sucked and nipped and pulled at them inelegantly.  Why were they so damned _soft_?  "We haven't even had a first date yet, and we're partners."

"Lovers are partners too, right?" she reasoned, not wanting to stop.  "And we've done tons of date-like stuff…"

Natsu forced himself back, wincing at how strong her grip on his hair was.  He couldn't do this if it was just a whim, and he couldn't risk having her resent him afterwards.  "This… If we do this, it's for real.  You gotta know I _mean_ it, and it's not just a one time thing."

Her smile was broad and genuine.  "Good, because considering how long I've been thinking about this, I'm pretty sure I'll want it more than once."

He groaned in response, cupping her face in his hands and pressing their lips together again.  Lucy's smile stayed in place, accompanied by a little giggle.  The giggle slid off into a gasp when he suddenly dropped his hands down to grope at her breasts.  Even through the fabric of her shirt she could feel the sweltering heat of his palms, and he squeezed the flesh fervently.

Ever since the incident with the bell he'd wanted free access to these glorious mounds - to all of her, really.  It wasn't quite as nice with them hidden behind her top, but Natsu was fairly certain they'd get to the naked part of this soon enough.  Especially with the way Lucy tilted her head, fingers again clutching his hair, and her wily tongue prodding the seam of his lips..

Running on the vicarious knowledge he had of these kinds of things from hanging around a guild full of perverts, the dragon slayer parted his lips and let Lucy slide her tongue inside.  The girl took quick, awkward advantage to rove the inside of his mouth.

She supposed it shouldn't have surprised her to find him so hot on the interior, but it was a bit like sticking her tongue into a sauna, humid and just this side of scalding.  He tasted of smoke and cinnamon and _fire_.  His shoulder muscles bunched under her forearms as he tensed, but when they released, she found herself being bent back.  Natsu pressed forward, fingers still grasping her chest, and shoved his greedy tongue past her own.

"Mmmmmh…."  His exploration wasn't graceful by any means, poking and tasting and roughly rasping across every surface.  They had kissed before, softly and sweetly, but shying apart at the first sign of intensity.  Nothing like this.  Having his tongue almost slip down her throat in his attempt to be everywhere at once made her feel dizzy.  Or maybe it was the lack of oxygen.

Natsu broke away, pulling back just far enough to breathe and letting his forehead rest against hers.  He panted and stared at her in awe.  "Whoa… I didn't know that was gonna feel so good."

"Yeah, me either… but could we kinda, I dunno, _move_ a bit?"  She was still leaning back awkwardly, and her knees were starting to ache.

"Oh!  Uh, sorry…"  He laughed sheepishly, letting go of her breasts and sitting on his haunches.  "Got carried away there."

"Stretch your legs out," she instructed after a moment of thought.  Even if he looked confused, the dragon slayer did as she asked and braced himself upright by reclining on his hands.  The slim fingers that immediately reached to pull his undone belt the rest of the way off brought his eyebrows up, but Lucy was much too focused on her goal to hesitate.

She set aside the leather and black fabric that normally hung from his hips, intent on the fasteners of his pants instead.  That touch she'd gotten of his groin earlier made her very curious, and she figured there was no reason to restrain herself.  A few tugs separated the cloth so she could push it  down his hips.  And then she stared.

"What?" Natsu asked, growing nervous.  "Is something wrong?"

Lucy looked up at him and tucked her lip between her teeth.  It wasn't like she hadn't seen him _naked_ before.  She'd even had a pretty good view of his front when they'd bathed together at the hot springs once or twice.  At the time, the celestial wizard had privately thought that her friend was reasonably well endowed, dangling there between his thighs and buoyed by the warm water.  But the recollected tittering voice of her biology tutor pointed out there was quite a bit of difference between the flaccid and aroused states.

"Geez, Natsu," she said, shaking her head in amazement.  "You could've warned me."  While he wasn't, she thought, excessively long, the circumference was enough to make her pause.

He looked down at himself, curious.  "Huh.  Is it no good?"

She felt a delighted pulse between her own legs followed by a rush of liquid warmth, causing her to shift restlessly.  "I've heard bigger is better, actually," Lucy reassured him.  Her private experimentation had never included anything _quite_ so big around, but they'd make it work.

"Oh, well I guess that's okay then.  What're you --"  His words were cut off by the strangled sound that gurgled out of his throat when she wrapped her hand around him with determination.

"Sorry!" she said immediately, almost letting go, but he shook his head .

"You just caught me off guard.  That felt pretty awesome."  He met her uncertain look with a sunny grin.  "It's okay.  Do what you want with me."

It did funny things to her brain when he said stuff like that.  As it was, she needed a moment to marvel at the feel of him.  He was hard and hot to the touch, almost hot enough to burn her palm which she attributed to his peculiar biology, but also strangely soft and just a little spongy.  Like silky skin gliding shifting over a flexed muscle.  Which, she supposed, was exactly the case.

At a bit of a loss for where to start, she slowly stroked him which seemed to have the desired effect when Natsu's eyes drifted closed.  The bumpy texture from the veins that rose near the surface on the underside intrigued her, and she couldn't help but muse that the head looked oddly confident with the way it jutted out from the foreskin.

Gently, she ran her thumb along the slit at the tip, finding beads of moisture there.  Natsu shuddered and sighed, eyes cracking open and watching her lazily.  It encouraged her to do something daring when he regarded her with such warmth and trust.  Lucy stuck out her tongue and licked along the head.

The choking sound he made and the way his hips jerked were gratifying, she had to admit.  His dark eyes were now wide and fixated on her.  "S-shit!" he grated.  "Give me some warning!"

"Where's the fun in that?" she said saucily.  His reaction made her feel courageous, like she could actually pull this off without making a fool of herself.  The rattling of his breath when she brought her mouth back down further boosted her ego.  Her tongue ran up and down, letting her saliva coat him, and he moaned loud and long when she finally enveloped the wide crest in her mouth.

Hooking her tongue along the underside of his head and rolling it along the edge proved to be a clumsy sort of move, but it still made Natsu's breath stutter.  "Oh, damn…" he hissed, torn between letting his head fall back or watching her, finally settling on sweeping her golden curtain of hair up and out of the way.  

She let her fingers trail up and down his shaft as she sucked on the tip, skimming her tongue lightly along the slit.  Lucy felt rather powerful with the way he was staring at her with so much hunger.  Maybe she could try something else she'd heard about.

"You like my breasts, right, Natsu?" she asked, just a little bit breathless.

"Hell yeah!"  The exclamation seemed to embarrass him slightly, but he refused to retract the emphatic reply.  "They're the best boobs around, for sure."

She released him and reached up to strip her top off.  It wasn't one of her favorites, but it had a nice amount of built in support, meaning one less layer to wear and very little shifting of her… _assets_ during a fight.  In this case, it meant she was naked from the waist up with just one move, and the dragon slayer gaped at her when she discarded her shirt and leaned towards him.

Her breasts engulfed him, and his warm flesh pressed up against her sternum.  Lucy really had little idea what she was supposed to do next, but her partner's eyes looked like they might fall out of his head.  She supposed that was something _like_ success.  "Ha-h… Wha…" he stuttered, hips thrusting upwards.  "That feels --"

Whatever he was trying to say got lost in a deep throated growl when she dropped her head to take him back into her mouth.  Letting him slide along her breasts, she rolled her torso in a circular path and hoped that Cana's one drunken tutorial on this activity had stuck in her brain well enough to carry her through.  

He'd been entranced earlier, but now Natsu was writhing from her attentions.  Though she doubted anyone more experienced would be all that convinced by her unpracticed motions, the dragon slayer looked poised to come undone from just this.

"Nnnng!  Aaah!"  He grit his teeth against the unwitting sounds that were pouring out, and she increased the speed of her rise and fall.  It seemed to make him even more wild, hips bucking carelessly, and she added a swirl with her tongue that had him panting.  

"Fuck!  Uh, sorry…"  She couldn't help but laugh at his apology, but the vibration made him moan.  "Shi-- Yes!"  His fingers twisted anxiously in her hair, and his chin dropped to his chest.  Lucy was enthralled by the way his features shifted as she sucked hard and pressed her breasts more firmly around him.  

"Gah!  Hnnnn…"  He sounded so desperate, looked so overwhelmed.  Pink brows drew down while his teeth clenched, creaking under the strain.  It was a magnificent expression on such a handsome face.  "Yesssss…."  A few more moments had him whining right before he firmly shoved her backwards.  "S-stop!  Lucy, I'm gonna --"

She toppled over, ready to complain about the rough treatment when she saw his length give a shiver as his hands grabbed for the base and three spurts of thick, white fluid spattered into the grass where she'd been previously.  "Sorry," he wheezed, holding himself and sounding out of breath.  "I didn't want you to, you know… get that in the face."  Natsu offered her a one shouldered shrug to go with his lopsided smile.

"Oh.  Well, thank you."  She pushed herself back onto her knees and sat on her heels.

"That was amazing!" he said, rolling up into a crouch with that enviable ease of his, and Lucy noticed he was still quite hard.  Wasn't that supposed to go soft afterwards?  But his bright grin and enthusiastic question blew the thought entirely out of her mind.  "So I get to do that next, right?  Not the boob thing, but with my mouth?"

How did he always manage to blind-side her?  "Uh, you could… If you want --"  Lucy squealed in surprise when he pounced on her, mouth sealing over her right nipple.  He suckled, tongue flicking back and forth over the nub, and she was reminded of her earlier comparison between him and a sauna as her breath left her in a gasp.

There wasn't a speck of finesse in the way he squeezed her unoccupied breast, eyes slanting sideways to take in how the flesh spilled between his fingers, or the way he slobbered ardently over the other one.  It didn't matter to Lucy, though, and the sensations had her reeling when he rolled her left nipple curiously until it formed a hard,pebbled peak.  She clutched at the soft pink spikes for something to ground herself, and he hummed into her skin.

Switching to the other breast without giving her a moment to relax, he offered it equal attention with his disturbingly talented tongue.  Where had he picked this up?  Was it all the weird foods he stuffed in his mouth?  It was really hard to focus her thoughts right then as heat was pooling into her belly.

Natsu finally pulled back, dark eyes darting from one breast to the other as if weighing that he'd managed to ravish them both fairly.  "Man, I've _always_ wanted to do that," he declared, seeming satisfied.

"Seriously?"  She blushed when he shot her bawdy grin and grasped her skirt, fighting with the buttons.

"How does this come off?  Give me some help here."  He just looked so damned excited about all this, it was hard not to get carried away along with him.

Lucy batted his hands away.  "Stop that!  You'll rip it.  It's like this…"  The material parted under her familiar touch, hanging loose away from her body.

"Stand up," he insisted, making upward motions with his hands for emphasis.  "Yeah, like that…"  Even as she complied, she couldn't stop the blush that swallowed her face when he licked his lips.  He carefully lifted one foot and then the other, helping her work off her boots, and those coal dark eyes shone with something she'd never seen in them before when he slid her skirt down her legs.

It was a bit embarrassing to have him contemplating her underwear like this, especially since she could already feel the dampness of her arousal making them stick to her.  Gingerly, he skimmed his palms up the outside of her thighs to her hips, and then let them drift inwards.  His thumb pressed down, rubbing along her core, and she had to grab his shoulder for support.

The spike of pleasure was intense, and from the look on his face he was more than a little interested in her reaction.  "C-careful," she whispered.

He glanced up and then back to where he was cautiously spreading her under the fabric and making her thighs shake.  "It's wet...  And slippery.  Is it supposed to do that?"

Lucy covered her eyes with a trembling hand.  This wasn't a discussion she really wanted to have with him, so she nodded instead.  When there was no response and she could no longer feel his exploratory prodding, her arm dropped back to her side so she could see what he was up to.

The dragon slayer was staring up at her with pitch black eyes.  Natsu dashed the back of his hand against the corner of his mouth, and she realized with a jolt of something hot that he was _salivating_.  "Hnn… You smell _really_ good, Lucy.  I need to taste you."

After that statement, she quickly helped him as he tucked his fingers into the waistband of her panties and dragged them down.  He kept her steady when she tossed them off with a flick of her foot.  "Do you want me to lie down?"

"No," he gave her a rakish grin.  "I want you just like this."  His thumbs spread her again, and he studied her center like it was something he intended to conquer.  The celestial mage could feel his steamy breath fanning over her moist flesh, and the anticipation made her light headed.

"D-don't just _stare._ "  She turned her face away, remembering that they were still out in the open.  "And maybe we shouldn't be doing this here… Anyone could --"

"There's no one around."  Natsu beamed up at her.  "I'd smell them if they got anywhere near here, so be as loud as you want."  Then he licked her, making her knees buckle.

It was an explosion of blistering pleasure that she was unprepared for.  He wrapped his powerful hands around her thighs and kept her upright with sheer brute strength while his mouth began to wander.  "Hmmm… So gooood."

He treated it like he had their kissing, lips pulling eagerly at the delicate flesh and tongue roaming into every crevasse.  He speared up past her folds with a sharp motion, making a scourging lance of bliss strike straight down through her.  Natsu didn't seem to have the hang of teasing yet, going instead for the things that interested him most.

"Ah!" she cried, gripping hard onto the back of his head when she felt his tongue _wiggle_ inside her.  It was the strangest and most fantastic sensation, and he shifted his body to press his shoulder in between her legs so her pelvis was supported by his torso.  Consequently, it freed up his hands to spread her mound for better access.  Every touch fired her nerves, plucking them with the confidence of a virtuoso.

The way he was alternating between licking and poking and suckling was driving her crazy.  Those lips drawing on her sex like he was _drinking_ her was enough to have her sobbing.  When his tongue glanced over the bundle of engorged nerves, she wailed and tugged his hair.  The huffing laugh he let out into her skin would've made her pull even harder if he hadn't closed his mouth over the bud and pinched it just slightly with his teeth.

She had entire _fantasies_ about those sharp, predatory teeth, working down her throat, nipping at her breasts and stomach.  But that hadn't prepared her for how they would make the throbbing he'd cultivated inside her leap to the surface and crystallize right at that point.  She'd never be able to look at that toothy grin the same way again.

Her delirious hand snaked past his surprised face and two fingers slipped into her dripping entrance as she moaned.  It was so good she just needed a little more, but his hands quickly pulled hers away.  "If you want me to do something, just tell me," he complained and then thrust his own digits knuckles deep inside her.

She keened, hips rolling and wanting to simultaneously feel more and give herself a second to just _breathe_.  Natsu worked his fingers in and out, sliding easily thanks to the copious amount of fluid that was apparently streaming out of her now.  His mouth was back on her, tongue lapping voraciously while his eyes gazed up, taking in every tremor and moan and analyzing it the way he did an enemy's battle patterns during a fight.  She didn't doubt that he'd dissect her right down to the last molecule and pull her apart with exquisite expertise.

"Mmmmm!  Please!" she begged, not even sure what she wanted other than for him to keep going.  Lucy bit down on her lip as she felt the knot of pressure cinch violently in her belly when he worried her bud between his teeth again and added a third strong finger to her core.  It was stretching her, but the blazing trails of pleasure blurred any pain into elation.  "Yes… Yessss… Like that!"

He seemed to like it as she got more vocal, but it was hard to do anything more than make mindless, needy sounds.  The fingers pumping inside her curled along the top of her walls, and she screamed when he sucked on her now pulsing nerve bundle.  Her breath left her in a shuddering gust.  "N-natsu!  Unnn!"

She was so damned close.  Her pelvis rocked against his mouth, helping those clever hands that were moving so fast now.  The winding threads of tension dug deep into the center of her, twisting and bunching.  "C'mon, Lucy," he murmurred.  "I know you're there.  Show me.  I want to _see you_."

His words and teeth pinching down on her bud were enough to snap the knot inside her, letting the strands fly every which way and making her shake uncontrollably.  Her fingers wrapped around his head while she called incoherent praises into the forest.  The way he kept working his hand against her even as she could feel her walls clenching and releasing kept up the suspended feeling that left her floating on that bubble of pulsing pleasure.

Finally, he stopped, and she drifted down out of the euphoric cloud that had swallowed her whole.  She was supremely glad to have the support of his shoulder between her thighs since Lucy would've dropped to the ground like a puddle of jelly otherwise.  Natsu slung one arm across her hip and rested his jaw on her abdomen, face tilting up to watch her.  "Man, that was incredible," he said, sparing a moment to swipe at his damp chin, and she laughed breathlessly.

He let her heart rate slow and her breathing even out before he asked, "Is that it?"

She blinked.  "Is _what_ it?"

"Is that sex?"

Lucy frowned, not quite comprehending the disappointment she was certain she heard in his tone.  "Well, yeah, but --"

"'Cause I'm pretty sure this," he gestured to the organ that was now standing at stiff attention between his legs and then pressed his index finger against her entrance, "is supposed to go in there, and I _really_ want to try that."  The fire wizard hesitated.  "If _you_ want to."

She was naked, he was hanging out of his pants, and they were in the middle of the woods, but she had to agree with him there: she _really_ wanted to try that with him.  "Sure," she said, not at all clear on why she was pretending to be nonchalant while her whole body was shrieking in consent.  "We could do that."

Natsu's eyes lit up and those daydream worthy teeth made a reappearance as a grin split his face.  He grabbed his belt and the long pieces of fabric attached to it, giving them a flick and snap to lay it out flat over the cushion of leaves they'd already disturbed.  Then he stripped off his vest and added it to the makeshift blanket.  "There, that should be --"

The dragon slayer broke off, face going first blank and then grimacing.  "Shit!" he exclaimed, "We can't do this _now._  We don't have any protection."

It was a relief to hear that was all that was concerning him.  Lucy had felt a pull of dread when he stopped moving.  "Oh, that's not a problem."

"Uh, yeah it is," he said, frowning up at her from where he was kneeling.  "You're pretty much at your most… fertile.  I mean, unless… you want --"

She shook her head.  "No, It's just that I have something already."  Lucy held up her wrist to his curious eyes, displaying the pretty gold bracelet that shone in the afternoon sun.  "Canna gave me this for my birthday.  It's a contraceptive charm.  She says every girl should have one just in case."

"Huh."  He studied it for a moment before his eyes narrowed.  "Why were you wearing that out here for the competition?"

"Uh, well, that is…" she hedged, shifting her weight from foot to foot.  "I wear it… a lot… just in case…"

"I've never seen you wear it around the guild hall," he said, mouth quirking up.  "And I didn't see you wearing it when you and _Gray_ went on that job two weeks ago.  Maybe it's because you knew it'd just be you and me… _alone_ … here in the forest?"

Lucy felt blood zip to her face, warming her cheeks almost painfully.  "I-It's not like that…"  Which was a lie.  It was _exactly_ like that, but she hadn't actually _expected_ anything to happen.

He apparently didn't care as he reached up to grab her hands and pull her steadily down towards him.  Natsu planted his palms at her waist and twisted her to lie on his discarded clothes, taking a moment to stare at her.

She imagined she must look ridiculous with her blotchy, flushed face, messy hair, and naked body sprawled out on the forest floor.  The dragon slayer just sat there, crouched over her, before he spoke.  "You look like that statue I saw in the castle in Crocus."

"Statue?"  Her brow creased, and she tried to recall what he might be talking about.

"There was this one that kinda looked like you, but everyone picked on me when I said that."  He shrugged, giving her a soft, heartwarming smile.  "It was some really old statue of a naked goddess."

The heat in her face increased a thousand times.  He thought she looked like a _goddess_?  What was she supposed to do with a piece of information like that?  It just sounded too sappy to have come out of his mouth.  

Rather than tear the sweet endearment apart, Lucy threaded her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck and pulled him down for a gentle, sincere kiss.  They stayed like that for several minutes, losing themselves in the slow, drugging push and pull of their mouths until Lucy reluctantly drew away.  "Are you sure about this?  I just want --"

"I'm as sure as I've ever been," he said bluntly.  "Are _you_ sure?"

She smiled and tugged on his shoulders, hands on the skin under his scarf.  "Yeah, I'm _very_ sure."  Natsu settled himself between her thighs, taking his time smoothing his palms over her body before he pressed his tip to her entrance.  He exhaled while she pulled in a shaky breath of anticipation.  

There was a heavy sense of pressure as he began to push forward.  She could feel her folds parting, hear the arousing squish of her desire soaked flesh.  There was a slight pinch that made her yelp as one of her lower lips got caught between him and her pubic bone, but Natsu halted and carefully spread her further.  "Sorry…" he whispered, sounding strained even as she giggled.  

He kept his fingers there, holding her apart while he continued to push in, breathing starting to labor and a flush developing under his tan.  The burning stretch was already much worse than it had been with just his fingers earlier, but Lucy breathed out and forced her inner muscles to relax.  As long as she concentrated on keeping herself from tensing up, she could handle this part...until he stopped anyway.

"You okay?" he asked, face warring between ecstasy and concern.

"Yeah, fine."

"You don't look fine --"

"I'm _fine,_ " she stressed.  "It's normal, and it's not that bad.  I just need a second to get used to it."

The dragon slayer turned that over a few times in his head, deciding he should trust her.  "Would it be better to go fast?  Just get it over with?"

"I… don't actually know, but maybe?"  She chewed the inside of her cheek.  "Yeah.  Yes, I think --"

Two hard thrusts pushed past her resisting muscles and seated him fully inside her.  Feeling for a second like she'd gotten thumped on the stomach, she gasped as the air tried to simultaneously rush from her lungs.  The result was an awkward hiccuping kind of sound that squeaked out.  Arms came around her, pulling her slightly up and against his chest while he whispered in her ear.  "Sorry… I'm sorry.  I didn't want…"

"It's okay," she assured him.  "I can take it.  It's not _that_ bad."  And it wasn't.  The unfamiliar feeling of fullness fought viciously with the stinging of her untested muscles.  It burned but set the knot of tension strumming low in her belly.

He remained still, cradling her and running his hands through her hair while she breathed deep and willed everything to unclench.  Lucy focused on the warmth of his body and the slight tackiness of his skin from the film of sweat he'd built up.  Having him curled around her like this was soothing, but right now she didn't really _want_ soothing.

The celestial wizard rolled her hips cautiously, managing to startle her partner.  His head came up from her shoulder, mouth opened in a question, but she cut him off.  "Just move, Natsu."

He shifted his arms, letting her rest against the ground and supporting himself on his palms.  Face tight with concentration, he pulled himself out until just the tip sat inside her before pushing back in slowly.  Lucy exhaled through her nose, the carefully paced strokes setting up a steady rhythm of pressure and release that immediately began stoking the fires inside her again.

"You okay?" he asked, still looking more serious than she liked.

"Mmhmm.  This feels fantastic.  Don't stop."  He felt huge, boldly invading every secret space within her walls.  There wasn't a place he didn't reach, and it was _amazing_.  No amount of personal exploration felt like this.  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, fingers toying with the strands of soft hair and the trailing fabric of his scarf.

It was easy just to lay there and enjoy the slow cadence of his hips, the weight of him settling over her solidly, but it felt like the winding knot in her belly reached a plateau all too soon.  Lucy lifted her foot and trailed toes along the back of his leg while she breathed into his ear, "Let's go _faster._ "

"Already?"  He gave her a skeptical look but sped up a bit.  "Like that?"

The fact she was still so wet from his oral performance cut down on any unpleasant friction, letting him glide in and out.  "Hmmm… More…"  He increased speed again, and the feeling of being repeatedly emptied and filled was exhilarating.  Still, he was being so annoyingly tentative.  "Harder," she instructed, and he frowned.

"Are you sure --"

"Let me be on top," Lucy interrupted, pushing him back.  He looked completely surprised, sitting back on his heels while she climbed into his lap.  She lowered herself back onto him, having much less trouble this time, and began rising up and down on her knees.

"Oh damn," he said, and his hands dropped to her hips to help her repetitive motions.  "I _like_ this."  The sharp dragon slayer grin was back, making the coil tremble in her stomach.

She looped her arms around his neck, leaning in to kiss him heatedly.  Gravity was forcing him deeper inside, but her movements were more shallow than his had been.  The new position gave her control of how fast they were moving and how hard, and his grin slipped when she started to bounce more aggressively.

"Are you sure --"

Pulling his hair hard enough to force his head back, Lucy sealed her mouth over his and ground down against his lap with everything she had.  The fire mage made a noise that sounded like it was fighting between a whine and a growl.  As much fun as she was having being in charge, she didn't want him to coddle her.  She released him, panting for breath, and he gazed at her in awe.

Her energy was already starting to fade, so she abandoned the frantic bounce for a more urgent roll.  She could feel him against all sides of her inner walls, and the coarse pink hair at his base rubbed pleasingly against her nerves.  Letting her chin rest on his shoulder, she slowed down even further.  The scalding mouth that drifted over the side of her neck made her groan, his wet tongue leaving trails of fire in its wake.

It felt so good being like this with him deep and heated in the very center of her.  She hadn't expected this to be so draining, but Natsu seemed happy to just have her lazily rocking in his lap while she got her wind back.  His hands trailed up her sweat slicked spine and then back down to cup her backside, lifting her slightly right before he began hammering upwards into her.

Maybe she was wrong about him being content.

The blonde gasped, breath forced out of her by the pressure skyrocketing inside her gut with each forceful thrust.  He was grinning again, tongue darting out before he lurched forward and captured her mouth.  Sucking her lower lip between his teeth, the fire wizard bit down gently, scraping along her flesh.

"You're really _hot_ inside, Lucy," he grunted, releasing her lip.  "It's like having sex with a volcano."

"I think you're the only guy on the planet that would be turned on by that," she laughed breathlessly.  Then she wailed when one of his hands slipped between her legs.

It was becoming too much.  Her inner walls clamped down powerfully, making him feel even bigger and harder as he worked against her.  It was too soon and _still_ wasn't what she wanted.

"Wait, wait."  Her hands pushed on his chest and he immediately halted.  The look on his face told her that he was assuming he'd overstepped some boundary, so she pressed a soft, reassuring kiss to his mouth.  "I want to try something _else_."

With what she hoped was a sultry smile, the celestial wizard climbed off her lover and turned over so she was on her hands and knees.  She glanced over her shoulder to read his reaction and found him rooted to the spot, eyes huge.  "If I hadn't hit you earlier, what would you have done?" she asked, pleased by the husky sound of her voice.

His jaw clenched, pupils black as a starless sky.  "You don't want to do this.  I don't know if I can keep it under control..."

"Maybe that's exactly what I want," she challenged.  If he truly didn't want to let himself go she wouldn't push him, but the covetous blaze of his eyes told her she was going to get her wish.

A broad palm skimmed down her back and around her hip, resting there for a moment before he suddenly mounted her.  Her head and shoulders were pushed down, though not as roughly as the first time, and teeth nettled against the back of her neck.  Excitement made her heart race and her body tense.

Forcing her knees apart with his own, a deep growl shook right into her bones.  His chest laid flat against her back, sliding easily as he arranged himself.  She could feel him there against her entrance again, and her breath caught under a lump of want in her throat.  Lucy felt exposed and caged all at the same time.  "Please," she begged, arching into him.

The dragon slayer snarled, slamming his hips against her as he drove in deep.  If her breath had been stuck before, it entirely fled under his furious barrage now.  Pounding into her without grace or caution, she'd never felt anything like the brutally transcendent tension that spiralled through her and cut past any lingering inhibitions.  The harsh slap of his flesh against the back of her thighs only heightened her pleasure until she broke through the lack of air in her lungs.

"O-o-o-oh y-e-e-s-ss!  Aaaah!"  Her voice stuttered under the force of his thrusts.  The teeth on her neck bit down, a prickling pain telling her he'd pierced the skin, and his tongue quickly soothed the damaged derma.  He didn't slow, starting to drive even faster and harder.  If he'd felt huge inside her before, now he felt massive and unyielding.  There was no where left for him to fill, every part of her taken up by the presence of him, inside, around, and all through her.  

She wasn't sure if heat had a smell, but the foggy, sweltering atmosphere certainly carried a scent she'd forever associate with Natsu as he enveloped her.  One of his hands lay flat on the ground to support them as they rocked together while the other clutched at a dangerously swaying breast, kneading it between rough fingers.  If he hadn't pushed her down so she was resting on her forearms, she might have slipped her own hand to the aching nerve center at her apex.  Any shift in her weight now would likely see her face first into his vest.

"N-natsu!  Unnnn!'  Lucy managed to spread her thighs just a bit more, trying to non-verbally communicate her desperate need to the man ruthlessly fulfilling her deepest desires.  It was too much and yet not enough, cresting towards the crescendo but falling just short.  "Please, please, please!  I can't… I…"

The rasping laugh that answered and rolled down the back of her neck with puffs of warm air didn't sound like something that could ever come from the carefree, pink haired wizard.  His shoulders pushed her further forward so she had to turn her head rather than be face down.  Everything ached gloriously, and she couldn't find a way to get enough oxygen into her starving lungs.  The air was heavy and thick, shimmering with heat.

Sweat slithered down her skin, dripping off her shaking limbs in condensing streams.  Her palms were damp and slipped on the fabric under them.  She'd never been so hot, so overheated before, and when she managed to pry her eyes open, she noticed flames licking at the surface of the arm so close to her head.  He was on _fire._

It should have made her panic, but the flame didn't reach her, boiling off the parts of his skin that weren't in direct contact.  It was strangely exhilarating, like being in the center of a heat storm as he smothered her with his powerful body.  His burning fingers closed over hers, threading together and squeezing as a desperate growl tumbled out of him.  He was pressed so closely against her, all she could feel was slick flesh and solid muscle, a glorious weight that consumed her.  "Hnnn…." she whined, lost to the throbbing in her sex and the force of him slamming against her.  "Please…!"

His other hand finally moved to the top of her mound, pressing down and rubbing urgently.  The celestial wizard wailed, taught spring low in her belly constricting in euphoria.  "Unnn!  Hnnn!"  Lucy clutched the black fabric that cushioned them, hearing the sound of crackling leaves underneath her anxious fingers as she heaved and sobbed.

The summit of her pleasure rushed forward with a suddenness that felt like an impact, and everything broke into shards of sparking surrender.  She came apart under him, screaming and shaking.  Her first orgasm was nothing compared to the shattering blow of ecstasy that tore her apart this time.

The dense length inside her kept moving at an impossible speed even as she felt her walls squeeze and slacken over and over again.  His thrusting kept her hanging on the fractured ends of the rapturous knot inside her until he opened his jaws and roared loud enough to make her ears ring.

The dragon slayer jarred her three more times, and she felt his organ shudder and pulse inside her, thick seed trickling down the inside of her thighs.  He was frozen above her for a long moment, breathing harshly into her ear.  She could feel the aftershocks of her own release, inner muscles spasming around the heavy flesh still filling her.  They stayed locked in that position until the convulsions of her walls stopped.

"Lucy," he whispered, lips brushing the shell of her ear.  "You okay?"

"Oh yeah," she laughed tiredly.  "I'm good."  The fire on his body had died out, leaving a haze of heat hanging in the air.  Lucy supposed she should just be thankful he hadn't managed to set the entire forest ablaze.

Natsu wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing an open mouthed kiss to her neck where he'd bitten her.  "Sorry… I don't think it's too bad, though.  It's not really bleeding."

Her fingers reached back, touching the shallow wound and brushing against his cheek.  It hurt, but it wasn’t  terrible, and was hidden by her hair.  She'd just have to wear it down while it healed.  "It's okay.  I think it was worth it."

He pulled out and shifted to sit back, using his grip to turn her so she was in his lap.  Lucy was astounded that even after his frenzy, the dragon slayer seemed to be already recuperating while she was a boneless pile laying against him.  His stamina was just insane.

She'd take advantage of that.  Later.

"I can't even move," Lucy moaned.  "I just feel too good."

His little chuckle sounded relieved.  "I'm just glad I didn't hurt you.  That got kinda… intense."

She made a dismissive noise and patted him on the pectoral.  "That was amazing.  I just don't know if I'm going to be able to walk out of here after all that."

Curling over her, Natsu pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that was far more chaste than the ones he'd given her earlier.  She hummed against his mouth, fingers ghosting against his jaw before settling on his ever present scarf.

A calloused thumb swept along the inside of her thigh, smearing his pale fluid on her skin.  "Uh, we might want to head over to the river before you get dressed again.  That's going to get sticky…"

"Hmm.  Can you carry me?" she asked, still drowsy from her fall down the intoxicating peak.

Natsu slipped his arms under her legs and back, grinning.  "I think I can handle that."

* * *

 

Lucy bit her lip, eyes searching for Mira as they arrived at the staging area where the other guild members had collected.  A number of them waved, some looking exhausted, others amused, and the celestial wizard returned their greetings.

"Oh, there you are!"  The white haired barmaid smiled brightly at the pair.  "We started to worry when you didn't come back after your tracer went off.  Did something happen?"

"Um, well," Lucy stalled.

"We just had to stop and find Lucy's clothes," Natsu cut in helpfully, but blanched when the She Devil's blue eyes harpooned him.  That level of interest from Mirajane was never a good thing.  "Uh, the ones she used to throw me off her trail, I mean."

The takeover mage glanced between the two, expression shrewd, but not confident.  Finally, she huffed.  "Well, I'm afraid you didn't win, Natsu.  Lucy actually did pretty well in the rankings."

"I did?"  The blonde was relieved.  At least she wasn't going to fall victim to whatever sinister punishment the master had invented.  "So who got caught first?"

Off to the side, Gray groaned loudly and buried his face in his hands.  " _Five minutes,_ " he said, voice sounding hoarse.  "It only took you five minutes…"

Juvia patted him on the back mournfully.  "Juvia is so sorry, darling!  Master told her that she had to try her best, and she is very _good_ at tracking Gray."

Snickers erupted from the fire dragon slayer.  "Oh man!  She got you good!"  Gray only moaned, not having the will to start a brawl.

"Juvia is _so sorry!_  She is terrible, and Gray will hate her now!" the water wizard wailed, hiding her face against her forearms.

"H-hey, it's not _that_ bad," Gray consoled.  "I don't hate you."

"She would rather have failed to find you and gotten punished by the Master instead!  Juvia is so foolish!"

The brunette sighed and touched her arm.  "Jeez, no.  I'd rather it be me than him pull some pervy stunt on you.  I can live with it so you don't have to."

Looking up at him through damp, blue lashes, Juvia sniffed and her lips trembled into a small smile.  "Gray would do that for Juvia?"

His cheeks turned dark red, and he snatched his hand away like she was boiling hot.  "U-uh.  You know… I'd do it for anyone…"

The crushing hug he got in return just made his face flush harder, and the words she whispered in his ear sent his heart into overdrive.  "Gray is a terrible liar, but Juvia is so thankful for him."

Smiling to herself, Lucy turned back to Mira after letting her eyes scan the others gathered in the clearing.  She wasn't surprised to see that some had already returned to town.  "So who's left?"

"Just Max and Gajeel," the takeover wizard chirped.  "They're the last ones, and I sent them the signal to come back almost 30 minutes ago.  I think Gajeel's just having too much fun hunting him."

"Wait, I thought Max was the seeker," Lucy said, frowning.

Mira shrugged with a little curl to her lips.  "Yes, but it seems Gajeel terrorized him so badly these last three days that Max started running the moment the timer started.  Hopefully they'll come back soon."

The celestial mage shook her head.  Somehow it wasn't much of a shock after seeing the way the iron dragon slayer had been stalking the sand mage all over Magnolia.  "Sorry you lost, Natsu," she offered.

He snorted and bumped her with his shoulder.  "Funny.  I don't _feel_ like I lost, but we could try that again any time you feel up to it."  Those teeth should be illegal, she decided when a grin split his face.

"Hmm… Well, maybe you could show me a few tips for next time?"  The smile on his face slipped slightly in confusion, so she leaned in to speak softly.  "You know, back at my place… in my nice soft bed?"

Natsu stood utterly still for a few agonized seconds before suddenly scooping the blonde up over his shoulder.  "Gotta go practice, Mira!  Tell Gajeel I woulda kicked his ass!" he called while Lucy shrieked in indignation as he tore off back towards town.

The She Devil just smirked and waggled her fingers in farewell.  "Have fun, you two!"

* * *

 

BONUS SCENE:

Makarov scowled and drummed his fingers on the wooden bar top.  It was quite late now and the rest of the guild members had gone home after he'd dismissed them with the promise of revealing the 'punishment game' tomorrow.  Max and Gray had bought each others drinks in commiseration while Gajeel had insisted on celebrating his victory with Juvia even as she protested.

"What's wrong, Master?" Mirajane asked, swiping a damp rag on the bar surface.  "You don't look very happy with how the competition turned out."

"Hmph.  It didn't quite go the way I expected, no.  Gray and Juvia were fine, but Gajeel and Max weren't what I had planned for.  I think Erza may have thrown the charm off since Jellal isn't actually part of the guild… Must be how Levy ended up with her name."  Makarov smoothed his fingers over his mustache thoughtfully.

The takeover mage was silent for a moment before her eyes narrowed in suspicion.  "Maaaster," she drawled, "did you rig the drawing results so everyone would be paired up as _couples_?"

"Of course I did!" he exclaimed.  "I just apparently didn't do as good a job as I thought."

She shook her pale head, tutting.  "You should've asked for my help!  Even if they suspected I'd do something like that, they'd never be able to prove it."

He sighed dejectedly and nodded.  "Next time, Mira dear."

"Did you delay telling them about the punishment because you need to think of a new one now?"

Chuckling, the guildmaster slanted her a devious look.  "I had tickets to a lovely couple's retreat all set up."

She giggled.  "What ever possessed you to do this?"

"It's just been too long."  Makarov's smile made his mustache twitch, and his eyes looked warmer than she'd seen in quite some time.  "I miss having all you kids running around the guild hall.  It would be nice for little Asuka to have some playmates, don't you think?"

"Ooooh…"  She leaned over and impulsively hugged the old man.  "Sometimes you surprise me."

"I can't have all my plans out on the table, now can I?  I have to say that I really did expect at least Natsu to catch Lucy right away.  That one definitely disappoints me."

Mira's blue eyes sparkled mischievously.  "Oh, I wouldn't worry about _them_ , Master.  I think that part of your plan worked out juuuust fine."

 


End file.
